Yakisoba

Yakisoba is a classic Japanese street food made by stir-frying vegetables, meat and noodles with a sweet and savory sauce. My version retains the taste of authentic Yakisoba but adapts the technique and ingredients for non-Japanese kitchens.

What is Yakisoba?

Perhaps one of Japan’s best-known street foods, Yakisoba (焼きそば) literally means “grilled noodles.” It’s thought to have originated from Chinese cuisine and became a popular fast-food meal in the black markets that popped up around Japan after the war. In an era when food was in short supply, and the country was busy rebuilding, the basic ingredients needed to make yakisoba, and the possibility of preparing it on large steel griddles called a teppan (鉄板), made it ideally suited for these makeshift outdoor markets.

Japanese Street Food

These days, health regulations have all but obliterated outdoor food stalls, but yakisoba can still be found sizzling away in stalls everywhere from baseball stadiums to traditional matsuri (festivals). If you’ve ever been to one of these festivals in Japan, you probably remember the smell of the fruity, spicy sauce caramelizing on those giant steel griddles accompanied by the trademark clatter of the stubby metal spatulas used to stir-fry the noodles.

Ingredients for Yakisoba

While most street food versions of yakisoba are mostly noodles with a few scraps of cabbage here and there, I like loading my yakisoba up with veggies (and sometimes seafood or meat), turning it into a complete meal.

Yakisoba Noodles

Most people outside of Japan associate soba with buckwheat noodles, because soba literally means “buckwheat” in Japanese, but the word was historically used to refer to any long, thin noodle. In fact, ramen was originally known as chūkasoba (Chinese noodles).

In the case of Yakisoba, the noodles are Chinese-style alkaline noodles. In Japan, these noodles are available in pre-boiled packs specifically for this dish. Although they’re convenient, I’m not a fan of them because they’re a pain to untangle, and they tend to get overcooked and soft when you stir-fry them. Instead, I like to use fresh noodles such as ramen, or chow mein and I boil them myself. It’s an extra step, but it’s not that much more work, and the results are better.

Yakisoba is so good you’ll likely end up eating the whole batch, so if you’re concerned with such things as carbs and calories, there’s a good alternative: Shirataki Noodles. These noodles made from the corm of a Voodoo Lily are very low in carbs and have virtually no calories. Go check out my Shirataki Yakisoba Recipe for all the details on that.

Yakisoba Sauce

In a world where people are pressed for time, most yakisoba is prepared from bottled or packaged sauces. They’re loaded with MSG and are not widely available outside of Japan, so I prefer mixing my own blend, using sauces that are available almost anywhere.

In Japan, the main component of the sauce is a fruit and vegetable sauce called chūno sōsu(sō as in soda, and su as in sue), which is often abbreviated down to sōsu. It’s a condiment that’s poured on everything from Tonkatsu to salads, and is used for seasoning dishes ranging from Hamburg Steak to Japanese Curry. Worcestershire sauce (I use Lea & Perrins) has a similar blend of spices and has the vinegary kick, but it lacks the fruity sweetness, which is why I blend it with ketchup and honey to make a close facsimile which I think tastes better than the original.

I also like to add a bit of oyster sauce to my Yakisoba sauce, which lends some incredible umami to the noodles while bringing it back just a bit towards it’s Chinese roots.

The Meat

The most common type of meat used for yakisoba is thinly sliced pork belly. Not only does it add a ton of flavor to the noodles, but it also contributes some fat that helps keep the noodles from sticking together. If you have trouble finding thinly sliced pork belly in your area, American-style bacon is a good substitute; however, you’ll need to reduce the amount of sauce you add a little as the bacon can be quite salty.
If you’re not into pork, chicken or shrimp are both excellent options, and it’s also okay to just leave out the meat altogether to make vegetarian yakisoba (make sure you use a vegetarian Worcestershire sauce).

The Veggies

The standard trinity of vegetables for Yakisoba includes cabbage, carrots, and onions, but you can honestly use any combination of veggies you like. In our home, this is one way we use up odds and ends from the veggie drawer, and I’ve made this with everything from peppers, to snap peas, to asparagus, to kale.

The Right Yakisoba Pan

Yakisoba tastes best when made on a teppan, but most of us don’t have a large high output griddle in our homes, so here’s the secret to getting that great grilled flavor at home.

The traditional teppan gives a large heated surface to work with, so cooks can constantly move the ingredients around to keep them on a hot part of the pan. This not only cooks the ingredients through quickly, retaining their vibrant color, it also allows the ingredients to take on just a bit of char, which is where that wonderful flavor comes from.

To approximate this at home, I like to use a large pan with a heavy bottom (cast iron or stainless steel both work well). The large pan gives you extra surface area to work with while using a heavy pan made of iron or steel (as opposed to aluminum) means the temperature of the pan won’t drop as quickly when you add in additional ingredients.

How to Make the Best Yakisoba

First I like to fry up the pork belly, this gives the pork a chance to brown, developing a ton of flavor, and it also allows some of the fat to render out. If you don’t use pork belly, you’ll want to increase the amount of oil you use in the pan to 2 tablespoons.

Then I give the vegetables a quick stir-fry to give them a bit of color. You don’t need to cook them through all the way here, as they’ll continue to cook after the noodles get added.

Finally, the noodles are added in and tossed with the sauce until it’s caramelized around the noodles and the noodles start to brown.

The classic toppings for yakisoba are aonori(green nori flakes) and beni shōga (red pickled ginger), but I also like to top it with some scallions sometimes, and I’ve even heard there are people who put mayonnaise on it 😱.

Steps

Boil the noodles according to the directions on the package. When the noodles are done, drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water, using your fingers to agitate the noodles. Drain as much water off the noodles as possible by using a dropping motion with both hands and yanking up suddenly. Toss the noodles with 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil to keep the noodles from sticking together.

Prep the vegetables and make the sauce by whisking together the Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, oyster sauce, honey and white pepper in a small bowl.

Heat a large heavy-bottomed frying pan or griddle over high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon of oil along with the pork belly or bacon. Fry until the fat from the pork has started to render out.

Add the carrots, onions, and cabbage and stir fry using two spatulas until the vegetables are vibrant in color and starting to wilt (they don't need to be fully cooked through yet).

Add noodles and toss with the oil in the pan. If you notice they are sticking, add some more oil directly onto the noodles.

Drizzle the sauce evenly over the noodles and continue tossing and frying until the noodles are a uniform color and you can smell the sauce starts to caramelize.

I love yakisoba! That was always one of the first foods I craved if I’d been away from Japan for a while and was just returning, usually in late August. I especially loved stirring the unusually bright pickled ginger into the noodles…that’s probably my favorite part of the dish. I’ve been trying to recreate chuno sauce, but have not quite gotten it right. Maybe worcershire + ketchup will do for now…

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5 years ago

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Marc Matsumoto

Hi Rachael, I’m working on a Chuno sauce recipe. Will post it when I get it right:-)

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5 years ago

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Tokyo Terrace

Awesome- I’ll keep an eye out for it! Hope you are doing well!

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5 years ago

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KKasper206

Hi Marc,
I always use the Bull-Dog brand’s Worcestershire Sauce – which is the way my mom showed me. How much of a difference in taste is there between their W. Sauce & the Fruit & Vegetable Sauce? I will have to pick up a bottle of this sauce, & do a comparison taste test w/mom & hubby!
Thanks!

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5 years ago

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KKasper206

Hi Marc,
I always use the Bull-Dog brand’s Worcestershire Sauce – which is the way my mom showed me. How much of a difference in taste is there between their W. Sauce & the Fruit & Vegetable Sauce? I will have to pick up a bottle of this sauce, & do a comparison taste test w/mom & hubby!
Thanks!

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5 years ago

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Marc Matsumoto

Hi KKasper206, the chunou sauce is sweeter and more viscous, so it caramelizes better on the outside of the noodles rather than soaking into the noodles. Give it a try and see what you think.

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5 years ago

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Robert Wimberly

Have you considered Pickapeppa sauce? I subbed it for the Chuno and was very happy with the outcome. Also, it’s cheaper and you can get it in any grocery store.

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5 years ago

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onecentinvegas

Made this for dinner last night. I added some thin sliced pork which I stir fried first, and also added some sugar snap peas wih the vegetables. Left out the katsuobushi, since I addad meat. Increased the sauce a bit, as we like it saucy. This dish was DA BOMB! Fast, easy and really yummy.
Thanks, Marc, for making my introduction to Japanese cooking so easy and tasty. Can’t wait to try more things!

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5 years ago

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Marc Matsumoto

Great idea adding the pork! Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

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5 years ago

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kathleenditommaso

Hot night for the SF bay area. Don’t wanna cook. Draggin’ my knuckles on the ground, it’s 95+. Dinner…what to do? I thought what’s that noodle dish, yakisoba — that sauce is great. Raided the vege drawer, boiled up those noodles, tossed it all up w/the sauce. ~20 minutes what w/my slow prep time & “he’s” fed. He says, good stuff.
Next day, “hey those noodles were good stuff, will you make them again? Was that a recipe from that Matsumoto guy?”
Dang, seriously? Busted.

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4 years ago

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Sircnawsnaws

You know, I put katsuobushi on there as in the recipe, and my Japanese wife thought that was weird. I liked it, tho. Like okonomiyaki, etc. Anyway, thanks for the recipe. I put green pepper on there as well.

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4 years ago

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Marc Matsumoto

Hi Sircnawsnaws, it’s not as traditional of an ingredient to add as aonori, but you can reassure your wife that this recipe was made by a Japanese guy living in Japan and adding katsuobushi is not weird.

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4 years ago

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Sircnawsnaws

Yeah, seems normal to me. Must be just the way her family eats it.

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4 years ago

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Eadgyth

Thank you! I have made this for my family three times now and last time I successfully made it with no recipe. Everyone loves this and even the picky eaters manage to eat their vegetables in this dish. I also like it because it is so quick to make. We buy a large 5lb bag of pre-cooked yakisoba noodles from our local restaurant supply store and divide it into three meals worth. I’ve also been adding leftover pork roast or roasted chicken to it at the end of the vegetable cook time so the meat can get thoroughly sauced and… Read more »

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3 years ago

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Wendy

This is the dish I miss the most from my days in Japan, when you could get it from the food carts. I had been trying to figure out the right mix of ingredients for years. Thanks for publishing this recipe!

You’re welcome, thanks for stopping by to leave a comment! I hope you enjoy it!

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10 days ago

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Dosia

Hi Marc,
Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe! Love stir fry noodles and Japanese cuisine. However, not a big fan of pork… or beef. Any suggestions what bacon could be substituted with? “Tofurkey” bacon perhaps? I don’t want to ruin this great recipe and would like to surprise my partner with nice Friday night dinner.

Hi Dosia, you’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by to leave a note. There’s two reason for adding the pork, the first is for flavor, and the second is that it adds a flavorful fat so we don’t need to use as much vegetable oil. Although pork is the most common protein used in Yakisoba here in Japan, I’ve seen yakisoba made with other meats, or seafood, and it’s also fairly common to see it without any protein at all. Some ideas are using chicken, or fried tofu (you can use fresh tofu too, but it will tend to fall apart… Read more »

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10 days ago

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Dosia

Hi Marc,
Thank you for the tips. I think I’ll use faty pieces of chicken and seafood/fried tofu in the future for this dish! Can’t wait until the weekend comes to try it 🙂

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9 days ago

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Marc Matsumoto

You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy it!

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9 days ago

LET'S DO THIS!

Hi! I'm Marc, and I'm here to help you elevate everyday meals by teaching you the basics, while giving the confidence and inspiration to have fun in the kitchen!